What You Need to Know if You're Recruiting Interns

It's that time of a year, where a new crop of graduates enter the workforce. Some of these students may already have jobs lined up. Others may be seeking internships to gain experience before they land their first professional position or to open a door to a permanent job opportunity. In addition to recent graduates, undergrad students may also be competing for an opportunity to earn credits or learn skills though an internship. If you're recruiting for Interns, we wanted to share what you should know when developing your recruiting strategy.

This year you're facing less competition for candidates than you would have in 2013. During the last 30 days, there were about 83,930 job ads posted online, 17% fewer than the same time last year, according to WANTED Analytics. You're mostly competing for talent with the following employers.

Companies with the Most Demand for Interns

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

The jobs that these and other companies are looking for Interns to perform are:

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Each of the jobs listed above are likely to be hard-to-fill, according to our Hiring Scale. Our Hiring Scale scores positions on a scale of 1 to 99, with 99 indicating hardest-to-recruit. The scores for these positions range from 53 (Office Clerks) to 85 (Industrial Engineers.) Seeking Interns to perform these duties is one way employers may be combating the hardships typically experienced in recruiting these occupations.

Another way to find candidates to fill Intern positions is to set up internship programs with schools that have the most graduates with coursework in the desired field of study. For instance, about 46,073 students graduated with the required knowledge for Public Relations Specialist jobs in 2013. A similar number is likely to enter the workforce this year. The school with the most PR graduates is California State University - Fullerton. Employers filling PR internships can set up programs with this school or colleges or universities with the most graduates in their area.

Graduate Candidate Supply for Public Relations Specialists

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

Lastly, consider the timing of your job ads. Seasonally, hiring for internships increases during March and April. Rather than wait until March, try posting your job ad in February to get ahead of the competition.

Are you experiencing difficulty recruiting Interns? How do you build your candidate pipeline?